Abstract: A time efficient method for processing digitized doppler radar signals and establishing adaptive target detection thresholds which are used to distinguish targets from noise and clutter. After subdividing the range-doppler matrix into several equally-sized parallel processing elements, the radar system's signal processor executes this process on each processing element in parallel. This process involves the processing of the digitized radar signals stored in each parallel processing element by integrating over the amplitudes of each data cell in a given parallel processing element. This, in turn, yields a secondary data array for each parallel processing element equal in dimension to the parallel processing element itself. Target detection thresholds for all cells in each parallel processing element can then be established from the values stored in these secondary data arrays.

Abstract: In combination with an envelope detector in a radar system, a bias compensation circuit consisting of a programmable read-only memory and a binary adder produce an unbiased envelope detection signal. The bias compensation circuit adds one to the output of the detector based upon whether the minimum of the I and Q (inphase and quadrature) signals is odd and the maximum even. It is capable of compensating for both normal envelope detection and the multiple divide-by-two case. As a result the dynamic range of the radar can be increased without the necessity for extensive additional hardware.